Method of operating combustion-engines.



No Drawing.

UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

PAUL WINAND, OF COLOGNE, GERMANY.

METHOD OF OPERATING COMBUSTION-ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept, 13, 1910.

Application filed August 3, 1905. Serial No. 272,621.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL WINAND, engineer, a subject of the King of Belgium, residing at 1 Sudermannstrasse, Cologne-on-the Rhine, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Im 'rovements in Methods of Operating Com ustion-Engines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

. for the operation of submarine boats and torpedoes.

It has heretofore been proposed to use, instead of atmospheric a1r, pure oxygen or mixtures of air and oxygen, as oxidizing means for the fuel, in order to obtain a greater specific output for the engine, with given dimensions thereof. This greater specific-output is due to the fact that a higher combustion temperature is attained, because of the lesser percentage of nitrogen present,

thereby realizing a greater increasein presi sure in the products of combustion, and therefore a greater mean piston pressure. In contrast to these former proposals, the present invention contemplates the employment of nitric peroxid or nitric di-oxid (N0 as the oxygen bearer. This substance is far superior for the purposes intended to all other substances known to me.

With a given total weight of NO and its containing receptacle, a far higher specific output of the engine can be obtained than is possible with oxygen, inasmuch as the complete combustion of a given fuel by means gen (O,), and nitric oxid (N05, (2) the liquid bodies, nitric acid (HNOQ and nitrous oxid (N 0), and (3) the solid body,

chlorate of potassium (K010 In the first place, N0 is superior, as a liquid, to the gaseous bodies 0 and NO, because of its high specific gravity, in consequence whereof large uantities by weight may be stored in a re atively small space. Furthermore the liquid does not boil below 26 centigrade and therefore, develo s such slight pressure in the storage vessel, 1: at the latter requires no thick walls and need be of but moderate weight. One kilogram of NO, occupies a volume of only 0.7. liters and contains 0.7 kilograms of oxygen, which, as Y a gas, occupies a space of 500 liters, (at 0) and at atmospheric pressure. Pure oxygen, on the other hand, even under a compression of 150 atmospheres, occupies a volume of 3.3 liters; five times its Weight is. also to be added, for the extraordinarily heavy walled vessel necessary for its stora e; whereas, for

the substance N 0 an addition of 20% suffices. For one kilogram of effective oxygen, the entire weight of the oxidizing body and its storage vessel or container, is:

When using pure oxygen, 1 kg.+5 kg.= 6 kg. 1

When using N0 0 7 (1 0.2 kg.) 1.7 kg.

Furthermore, in favor of the latter, is the very much smaller volume of the oxldizing body and its container corresponding to the ratio 3.3:1. The so stance N 0 is also essentially superior for the purpose intended to the other oxids of nitrogen. Nitrous oxid (N 0) has been proposed for this purpose, because it volatilizes readily, but at the ordinary temperature of volatilization, it develops a high pressure in the storage vessel or container, so that, for each kilogram of the fluid a very considerable addition to the weight of the container must be made, as a ainst but 0.2 kg. for each kilogram of O furthermore, N 0 contains very much less oxygen (2'. e. 'for 1 kg. of N,( only 0.36 kg. of oxygen). Furthermore, nitric di-oxid, N0 is superior to all of the liquid and solid oxygen bearers, for the purposes intended because of its higher yield of oxygen, by which is to be understood the ratio of the weight of the oxygen contained in the substance to the Weight of the substance itself. For instance, the relative yield of oxygen, for NO is represented by 0.7; for HNO by 0.64; for N O, by 0.53; and for KClO by 0.39. Nitric di-oxid is furthermore superior to nitric 5 acid, inasmuch as it does not preceptibly attack metals like iron, nickel and aluminum, and that it can be drawn more readily into a piston engine or pump, because of its lower boiling point, or can be brought to the desired advantageous operating pressure by moderate heating, by means of the'waste products of combustion. Nitric dioxid (N0 has a further advantage over nitrous oxid (N,()) in that its individual pressure is lower than that of N 0, (which, for instance, has a pressure of 55 'atmospheresat 20 centigrade) and, therefore, requires less' weight for its containing vessel. Finally, a further advantage in favor of nitric di-oxid with respect to the solid body KClO '(chlo-- rate of potash) is that it produces only gaseous products of combustion, all of which contribute to the roduct-ion of work; Nitric di-oxid, there ore, presents a bearer poses in hand. Inasmuch, however, as the use of nitric di-oxid and fuel alone in the right proportion for theproduction of complete combustion would develop excessively high temperatures, the employment of a? diluting medium is practically necessary. L

The most suitable diluting medium would, of course, be the sea water roundabout, which, introduced during the combustion, would bind the heat by the steam developed, which latter would then contribute workto that accomplished by the gases of combus tion. This expedient can only be made, available, however, for those engines in which the salt separated by the evaporation would exert no disturbing influence (e. g.- for turbines). For engines for which; sea water cannot be employed as a diluting. medium (piston engines) the introduction of a special diluting medium is necessary; unless the waste products of combustion'are used for the urpose. From a practical standpoint, having in mind the necessity for moderate weight and volume, a liquid only can be considered as such special diluting medium. The most suitable liquid would be the one which develops the greatest working volume of vapor upon its introduc-' tion during combustion. For this purpose,

those liquids present special advantages,

whose vapors when decomposed into their constituents by the heat of the combustion,- increase in volume. Ammonia is one" ex ample; it is decomposed according to the. formula NI-I,:N+H and, in decomposing, doubles its volume; j i 7 One means for avoiding the introduction of a special diluting medium (for'thepi r pose of economy in the weight of theire- 5 ceptacle) consists in using the fuel asfla of oxygen peculiarly adapted to the puri,

diluting medium, 2'. 6., by using a sutficient excess .of fuel. Working with an excess of fuel,.zin contrast to working with an excess .of theoxygen bearer (e. 9., air) has theadone container is necessary for both materials. Of course, in that case, a fuel must be chosen which will mix intimately with the N0 and which will not thereafter segregate from it in the container. Moreover, the mixture must not have the properties of an explosive in the sense that ignition at any one point would propagate itself immediately throughout the entire mass. A suitable body which fulfils this requirement even as a chemical combination is, for instance, nitrate of ammonia, which has the ,formula NILNO, and which is transformed,

2'. e burned when heated to a given temperature according to the formula 2 (NH NOQ =4(H O) +2N 'Having thus described my invention, what I claim is z- 1. The method of effecting combustion in combustion engines under conditions which exclude supplying air directly from the at- I gmosphere to the engine, as, for instance, in

submarine boats, torpedoes, and the like, which consists in effecting the combustion of the motive fluid by means of nitric dioxid (NO,) as the oxygen bearer, and making up for the deficiency of the released nitrogen to moderate the otherwise destructive heat of combustion, by supplying to the charge a compensating heat-absorbing diluent; substantially as described.

; 2. fThe method of effecting combustion in combustion engines under conditions which exclude supplying air directly from the atmosphere to the engine, as, for instance, in

submarine boats, torpedoes, and the like, which consists in efi'ecting the combustionof the motive fluid by means of nitric dioxid (N0 as the oxygen bearer, and making up 'for thedefioiency of the released nitrogen to moderate the otherwise destructive heat of combustion, by supplying to the charge a compensating heatabsorbing diluent, the

' combustion taking place only within the en- I gine, itself, thereby avoiding back-firing;

substantially as described.

I, The method of effecting combustion in combustion engines under conditions which exclude supplying air directly from the atmosphere to the engine, as, for instance, in

submarine b oa ts, torpedoes, and the like, whichconsists ln'eifecting the combustion of the motive fuel by means of nitric di-oxid (NO as the oxygen bearer, together with a heat-absorbing diluent consisting of a fluid whose vapors are decomposed at the temperature of combustion; substantially as described.

4. The method of effecting combustion in combustion engines under conditions which exclude supplying air directly from the atmosphere to the engine, as, for instance, in submarine boats, torpedoes and the like, which consists in effecting the combustion of the motive fuel by means of nitric dioxid (N 0 as the oxygen bearer, together with ammonia; substantially as described.

5. The methodof eifecting combustion in combustion engines under conditions which exclude supplying air directly from the atmosphere to the engine, as, for instance, in submarine boats, torpedoes, and the like, which consists in preliminarily admixing the fuel with a supply of nitric di-oxid (N 0 so as to make up a storage quantity thereof, of a composition such that ignition at the place of combustion "will not propagate itself into the body contained in the -storage receptacle, and subsequently efl'ectcombustion engines under conditions which exclude supplying air directly from the atmosphere to the engine, as, for instance, in submarine boats, torpedoes and the like, which consists in preliminarily admixin the fuel with a supply of nitric di-oxid (N0 so as to make up a storage quantity thereof, said nitric di-oxid forming a constituent of a chemical compound decomposable at the heat of combustion, and subsequently efi'ect ing the combustion of the fuel constituent by the nitric di-oxid con-v stituent as oxygen bearer; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

PAUL I WINAND. Witnesses:

MICHEL DE VRIEs, PRUDENT BRACK. 

